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The 10 best-paid CEOs in 2008 in The Associated Press survey of companies got a reality check last year. Eight got a cut in overall compensation, amounting to tens of millions of dollars. Of the two remaining, one executive retired and the other hasn't had his compensation for the latest fiscal year disclosed yet.

The drop in pay last year was due in part to the stock market's collapse in early 2009, which brought down the value of the stock component of compensation. But many of these former high-flyers also faced cuts in salaries and bonuses.

Motorola recruited Jha from Qualcomm in August 2008 to turn around its money-losing cell phone business. His pay package was almost entirely made up of stock grants and options. But Motorola's stock has yet to go above $9.82, which is the exercise price on Jha's 2008 options. In 2009, he took a 25 percent salary cut and received no stock options.

Isenberg's pay fell by nearly 75 percent in 2009. That was largely because the CEO of the oil and natural gas driller received no stock compensation. In 2008, he got stock awards valued at $56.8 million.

The software magnate's fiscal 2009 pay included $78 million in stock options. But he got a smaller bonus because the company did not meet what it characterized as a "difficult" internal target for pretax profits. The company has not yet reported Ellison's compensation for fiscal 2010, which ends May 31.

Blankfein's pay for 2009 only included salary and perks. He received no grants of stock awards or options during 2009, while his compensation from 2008 included stock compensation valued at $42.1 million on the day it was granted.

Much of the decline in Chenault's pay came from a drop in the value of his stock compensation he was granted. He received stock and options in 2009 that were worth about $4 million at the time they were granted, compared with $34.2 million worth in 2008.

Pandit agreed in February 2009 to take a $1 salary for the rest of the year after the bank took billions in federal bailout money. But he had already received $125,001 in salary before making that announcement. His only other compensation was $3,750 in 401(k) benefits.

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